Shadows in the Night
by MissJayne
Summary: A suspicious death in a disused building has Abby thinking of ghosts. Could she possibly be right? With the addition of a mysterious secret and a sprinkling of Jibbs tension. Lily!
1. Prologue

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Decided to try a more Abby-centric story, which is not easy with a CIA agent... Only 11 chapters in this one._

_For SJ. On the provision she does not jeopardize my fragile health._

Shadows in the Night

Chapter 1: Prologue

Petty Officer Carter Hillman whistled a happy tune as he walked back across the base. He had spent the evening in a little bar just outside the main gate with his best buddy, who was just back from Iraq. It had been good to see Mick again, and they had had a few beers and shared some interesting stories.

They had discussed Iraq, weapons and women. Mick was getting married soon, and he had been invited to be the best man. He was already planning his speech in private. It was going to be highly embarrassing, especially as he and Mick had been friends since kindergarten. There were lots of incidents he could bring up.

The stag night would also be good. He had already decided to sent Mick into a strip club and call the cops just as he slipped out the back. It might be worth starting a fight in there as well. Nothing too serious, but enough to make his friend stew in a police cell overnight. Lots of alcohol would be essential. Perhaps he could take his friend to the wrong church as well.

The night was chilly, but not cold. A slight breeze ruffled his coat and the moon was bright. The stars twinkled in the heavens. Hillman had not bothered to take his car with him to the bar because he always enjoyed the walk back. It was quiet and peaceful.

He thought about Mandy, the woman he was seeing. She was a pretty blonde, short but curvaceous, smart and amusing. She worked in an office just outside Norfolk, but she deserved so much more. She had a young son from a former relationship. He was very cute and nice. Hillman had already realized he was head over heels for this woman, and wondering if they should start talking marriage. They had been dating for a year so it would be a logical progression. He should ask Mick for some advice.

Advice was often hard to come by, he mused. Good advice anyway. People always had ideas and thoughts, but most of it could easily be dismissed. Even the higher ups had crazy ideas all the time. The difference was that they could enforce their opinions on others.

Hillman loved the Navy. He was fourth generation, and was proud to serve his country. His grandfather had died in action, while his father was now running a company of his own back in Alabama. It was another three weeks until he would get leave, and he planned to go back home for a week. It would be nice to see everyone again.

He and Mick had signed up together, along with a few other friends from high school. Some of them had seen it as a big adventure, but he had taken it seriously. They were the only two left in the Navy; one had not made it through Boot Camp, another had gone AWOL, and the third had been honorably discharged after two years and a tour in Afghanistan. Hillman believed that if you signed up to something, you gave it your all.

A light rain began to fall, and he decided to cut across the base to shorten his journey. He knew the best place to do this was just up ahead: a disused aircraft hangar. It would keep the rain off his back and would cut around ten minutes from his journey. It would be very dark inside, but the place had been cleared out long ago so he did not have to worry about tripping over anything.

The moon disappeared behind a cloud and his path turned dark. He whistled an old tune that had always cheered him up and stuffed his hands further into his pockets. Not long now. Maybe next year he would get a place off base. It would make a nice change of pace. He could move in with Mandy. Her boy needed a father figure and he was the right man for the job.

The wind picked up slightly and Hillman shivered. It was as though someone had walked over his grave. He stopped suddenly and looked around him. He was all alone in the middle of nowhere. Only the hangar was nearby. He decided he was being irrational and continued his journey. He was on a Navy base; no one would attack him here!

Nevertheless, he began to jog slowly. He wished he had a knife on him to fight off anyone who came after him. He was fairly sure he was being crazy, but he was not one hundred percent sure. He was not going to take the chance he was wrong.

He ducked inside the aircraft hangar, surprised that the door was open. He decided that fortune was favoring him for the moment, and smiled. If only Mick could see him now! Running to shelter when he did not need to! They would talk about this tomorrow over a beer and they would have a good laugh.

He chose to creep quietly through the hangar, just in case. He took his time. The wind wailed around the outside, making Hillman's pulse rise. Could this place get any creepier?

He had been inside here during the day before, with a few friends. It was a place to share a few drinks, or even bring a picnic. But no one he knew ever came here at night, excluding him. He had passed through here a few times on his way back from the bar. It was a good shortcut.

He did not understand why the Navy didn't just knock the place down. It was disused! They could turn it into storage or something. A few small repairs and it could be operating again.

He tripped over something on the floor, crashing into the floor himself. Whatever he fell over didn't make a noise. It wasn't a bottle then, or some rubbish. Maybe a dead badger?

The moon came out from behind the cloud and illuminated the scene through the open door.

A man lay on the floor. Still. Unmoving.

Petty Officer Carter Hillman had seen dead bodies before. And he knew this person was dead.


	2. Communication

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! _

Chapter 2: Communication

"It is clear that communication skills are necessary, not only in our jobs, but also for everyday life. Yes, they require practice, but practice makes perfect! Being an effective communicator takes skill. Your skills need to be developed constantly, and that is why this seminar is being run today. We are going to look at both verbal and non-verbal communication. Now we are all individuals, and therefore we all have a different style of communicating. We can pool our ideas together to improve as a group!"

Leroy Jethro Gibbs tuned out the over-excited 'facilitator' at the front of the conference room and glared at Jenny. Or, more correctly, at the back of her head. She was still ignoring him when she could, and he could not figure out why.

He also couldn't figure out why his team needed to be included in the communication skills seminar. They communicated well enough. Why was he supposed to trust a middle-aged woman in a pink fluffy sweater? Even Lily wouldn't trust her, and would probably shoot the woman.

Lily was someone who really need to work on her communication skills. She could read people fairly well and get her point across, but she needed to learn tact and when to stop.

He knew for a fact that Lily wasn't in the room. It was definitely Jenny in front of him. Telling the sisters apart was virtually impossible, but he was one of the few who could. He could tell them apart at a hundred paces, even without their slightly different personalities. Jenny could communicate well, most of the time, while Lily's idea of negotiations tended to involve weapons and blackmail.

Personally, he hated tact. But Lily really didn't seem to get it. He knew she had it within her somewhere although he had rarely seen it. A communication seminar might help her control her worst impulses. One of these days, she was going to do something so stupid it would get her killed.

His mind wandered as he watched his team. Tony was yawning, Ziva had already fallen asleep across her desk, and McGee had stopped taking notes and was just staring at the woman. Even Abby seemed depressed, glancing around the room. Palmer was listening carefully, as was Jenny. Gibbs guessed she was pretending to listen and was really thinking of her paperwork.

Ducky had managed to get out of the seminar, but most other agents were in attendance. He had a funny feeling it was because Lily had sent out the email. She had threatened to fire anyone who failed to get marked present. He himself had only appeared because Lily had appeared in his basement at 0500 and offered to burn his boat down.

Someone really needed to get a grip on the CIA agent.

A cell phone rang and everyone perked up, looking round to see who is was. Jenny answered her phone rapidly, hissing something he guessed was a threat to Lily. Lily would find it amusing to disturb a seminar. Her expression changed as she continued to listen. Finally, she hung up and addressed the rest of the group.

"Agent Gibbs' team may leave now, as may Mr. Palmer," she announced.

She turned to him. "Dead body in a disused aircraft hangar at Norfolk," she whispered. "Base guards took their time to call it in."

He rolled his eyes and followed his team from the room. At least he didn't have to attend the seminar any more.

* * *

Tony DiNozzo looked around the crime scene. There was one dead male body in the middle of the floor, with no obvious cause of death. He didn't appear to have been shot or stabbed, but he was lying on his back so it was possible any marks were hidden.

The floor was of no use. There was no dust on it, and the Petty Officer who had called it in claimed it was used a lot during the day. Beer bottles and fast food wrappers were everywhere. Tony decided to get the Probie to collect them all. One of them could lead to the killer.

He was glad he didn't have to attend the seminar. He had good communication skills. He always managed to get over what he wanted, and he was successful with women. You couldn't be successful with women and be rubbish at communicating. The Probie might have needed that seminar, come to think of it…

Tony chuckled to himself. The facilitator had not said anything he hadn't already known. He had attempted to go to sleep and Gibbs had made no attempt to stop him. Privately he felt that the boss should have been paying attention; he needed to improve his communication skills to work things out with the boss' boss.

Jenny and Gibbs were not talking still. The Director had asked Cynthia to bar him from her office. It had only taken an hour for everyone in the Navy Yard to find out about it and start gossiping. Tony was taking bets.

He suspected that his boss had put his foot in it somewhere, although women were capable of shutting you out for no apparent reason. Jenny needed all the help she could get from him, especially with the twins. Tony wanted to see them again; they were so cute!

Abby had quietly spread the news that Lily knew what was going on between Jenny and Gibbs, but had clammed up when asked to explain. He had managed to persuade Lily to hand over her cell phone number when they were in Europe, and he was trying to call her. Unfortunately, he kept getting her fiancé Alex and wasn't sure how to talk to him. Was it possible to talk to a guy who was engaged to a woman you liked?

Gibbs would probably know if it was, but he had no intention of asking him. Lily would find out if Gibbs knew, mainly because he would tell Jenny and Jenny would tell her sister.

Although with Gibbs and Jenny not talking, now might be the best time.

Tony looked up as Ducky and Palmer walked in, arguing.

"You had the map, Doctor," Palmer protested. "How am I responsible for getting us lost?"

"You should have known that right meant left," Ducky countered.

"But how was I supposed to –"

"Jethro!" Ducky greeted the boss. "Who do we have here?"

"Seaman James Fincher," Tony answered quickly.

Gibbs glared at him.

"Sorry boss."

Ducky knelt down and started examining the body carefully. Palmer knelt down on the other side.

"Hey, Probie!" Tony yelled. "Start bagging and tagging everything."

McGee muttered something under his breath, but did as he was ordered. Tony glanced around to see Ziva talking to the Petty Officer who found the body. He thought he had the easiest job – taking the photos. He snapped a few of Palmer's ear.

At last, Ducky stood up. "Bag him, Mr. Palmer," he ordered.

"What does it look like, Duck?" Gibbs asked, coming over.

"I'll start with the time of death. I would say somewhere between 2100 and midnight last night."

Tony scribbled down the times in his notebook.

"I have a tentative cause of death, but really need to conduct the autopsy first," Ducky continued. "I think he had a heart attack."

* * *

Ziva David was finding Petty Officer Hillman easy to talk to. The man wanted to explain how he had stumbled across the body, and she was applying no pressure. It was odd compared to what she was used to, but she did not intent to look a gift cow in the mouth.

Or was it dog?

It was some kind of animal anyway. She made a mental note to ask McGee about it later. Tony would tease her, when all she wanted to do was improve her English. She was a lot better than she used to be, but the occasional idiom still caught her out.

She could see Tony taking pictures but really playing around. McGee was conscientiously bagging and tagging all the wrappers and beer bottles from the floor. That particular task would be very time consuming. She hoped Gibbs would order Tony to help out. It would make Tony annoyed, and he would turn into a little whiny child again. Ducky and Palmer were transferring the body to the gurney, while Gibbs looked on.

She smiled sweetly at Hillman. "So let me recap. You were coming home from the bar."

He nodded.

"You thought someone might be following you so you cut through the hangar."

"I originally cut through the hangar because it was raining," Hillman corrected. "But later, I did think someone was following me."

"Okay. Then you stumbled over Seaman Fincher on the floor."

"I ran back to my place and called base security."

"Why not flag them down?" she asked.

"I've worked on patrol before. I knew it would be a while before they came round my way and it was quicker to go home and call them."

She nodded. "Then you came back here."

"I bought a flashlight and checked the area. I didn't touch anything. I just wanted to see if anyone was really following me."

"Did you know him?"

"Only be reputation. Everyone liked him. He was a daring guy, both in the field and out of it."

Ziva filed away his comments. "You may go, but not too far. We may need to get in touch with you again."

He nodded and walked away. Ziva turned back to the rest of her team. Why was Fincher dead?


	3. Seaman Fincher

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! I think I owe you this today, but my memory is appalling. Quick reminder: Charlie is Lily's CIA partner._

Chapter 3: Seaman Fincher

Timothy McGee tried to focus on his work. It wasn't easy when Tony was throwing pieces of paper at him. Where was Lily when you needed her? She would come up with a good prank to pull on Tony to get him back.

He wondered if he should call her and ask for help. Unfortunately, he didn't have her cell phone number. He supposed he could call the CIA and ask to be put through, but he doubted she was in the country. For all he knew, she could be in Australia, up to no good.

And anyway, Ziva might help him. She was busy conversing with someone on the phone, but once she hung up, she would become Tony's target again.

He hoped.

In the meantime, he was busy searching for Seaman Fincher's file. Someone had offered to email it to him, but were taking their time. He had asked for it by midday, which was an hour ago. He had checked all the fax machines. He had checked it hadn't been delivered to his junk email folder by mistake. He had attempted to ring the person back but hadn't been able to get hold of the person he had talked to.

Gibbs would not accept excuses though, so he continued to persevere. He could always hack the personnel system and read the file that way…

His email dinged and he opened it. The file! He printed it off for easier reference; that, and Gibbs would not read it on a computer screen. He stood up to collect the file and a piece of paper hit his forehead.

"Tony," he glared. "Could you please stop that?"

"Stop what?" Tony inquired, an innocent look on his face.

McGee rolled his eyes and sat down the read through the file. Nothing particularly interesting. Nothing that gave a clear motive for murder. Was it murder? They were still waiting for Ducky to answer that question, but for now, they were proceeding as though it was one. It was a lot harder to switch to a murder investigation later than to act as though it was murder for now.

Gibbs wandered back in with a coffee and sat down at his desk. He hit a few buttons on his keyboard before turning to the others. "DiNozzo."

"Talked to Fincher's CO," Tony reported. "Fincher didn't seem to be under pressure or in trouble. His behavior hasn't changed over the last few days. No one seemed to have a problem with him."

"David?" Gibbs asked.

"Checked his bank statements. There are no suspicious withdrawals or deposits. I also took the freedom to –"

"Liberty," Tony corrected.

She glared at him. "The liberty to call a few of my contacts. No one recognized his name."

"McGee?" Gibbs questioned.

"Nothing in his file that would suggest he would be murdered. He hasn't been written up by anyone; in fact, he hasn't been in any trouble."

"So why is he lying dead in Autopsy?" Gibbs pointed out.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs watched the catwalk like a hawk. Or, more accurately, the woman on the catwalk. One Jennifer Shepard.

He honestly could not figure out what she was hiding from him. She was definitely hiding _something_. When he came over to spent time with the twins, she appeared to be fighting the urge to throw him out the door. She was also being careful to have someone else around in the apartment she was sharing with Lily. He had never been able to get her alone. Charlie was present, or Alex, or Lily herself. Once, Lily's boss had been in attendance, although he looked as clueless as Gibbs felt.

She had even barred him from her office! She sent all messages via Cynthia. He had tried to barge through the door, but she was keeping it locked. He wasn't sure what she would do to him if he picked the lock, although he was fairly sure he wouldn't like it. There was a reason everyone mixed the sisters up.

She seemed tense and worried. He had tried asking her straight out what the problem was. Her response had been to deny the existence of such a problem. He didn't mention that her hands were shaking quite a lot of the time, or she was distracted. She wasn't drinking more than she used to, but that was probably due to Lily monitoring her alcohol intake.

Lily had been lurking around a lot more. She turned up when she was supposed to be on her lunch break. She bought takeout food in the evenings. She removed piles of paperwork to complete alongside her own work. She had bribed one of the security guards to take coffee to Jenny every two hours. She sent Charlie around at odd hours, and occasionally Alex in the evenings when everyone else had gone home.

Something was certainly going on, but he couldn't work it out. He was extremely tempted to force Lily to open up to him, as Jenny clearly wasn't going to. The only problem was that Lily could keep a secret better than her sister.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Jenny moved back towards her office and Cynthia came out. Gibbs saw her moving in the direction of the back elevator and stood up suddenly. He made his way over just as the doors opened.

Cynthia was surprised to see him, although she hid it well. She stepped back to allow him to enter. He gave her a curt smile, picking the button for Autopsy and letting the doors close. As soon as the elevator began to move, he hit the emergency stop.

"What's wrong with the Director?" he asked.

Cynthia shook her head. "I don't know."

He moved into her space.

"If I knew, Agent Gibbs, I would tell you. Something is wrong with her."

"Do you have any idea what it might be?"

She considered. "I think it has something to do with a letter. I've seen her standing in her office with a letter in her hand sometimes, but she always puts it away when she sees me."

"Where does she put it away?"

"In the top drawer of her desk. She keeps it locked now and I think she's taken it home."

"Perhaps it's more than one letter," he mused.

"It could be," she concurred.

He stared at her for a moment. "Thank you," he told her. He flipped the emergency switch back and let the elevator continue on its journey.

* * *

Ducky continued to observe his assistant's work. Palmer was diligently weighing Seaman Fincher's stomach, while he supervised.

He worried about the Director. Something was consuming her, sucking away all her energy and control. She was putting all her efforts into her agency and not herself. Someone needed to make her realize her error.

He even knew who she would take the news from best. Unfortunately, she and Jethro were not longer talking, at least on her part. Ducky had found out about the barring almost immediately. Cynthia had told Abby, who had proceeded to tell him and the rest of the agency. Jennifer did not seem to know that everyone else knew, mainly because she rarely left her office now.

She was taking some insane chances as well. Who in their right mind went willingly into a hostage situation? Jennifer had taken advantage of Jethro's injury and walked into MTAC. Only Lily's involvement had prevented her death.

Part of him wanted to walk into her office and make her talk. The other part knew she was more likely to open up to someone if she did not feel under pressure from them. She would tell someone in her own time. It probably would not be Jethro, but he was known for keeping secrets. If she told him, he would not breathe a word to a soul.

Even if he wanted too.

At least she was letting Jethro see the twins again. It was better than nothing. With Jethro playing a part in her life again, however small, there was a chance she would let him in. Right now, above anything else, Jennifer Shepard needed a friend.

The doors swished open and Jethro walked in. Bang on time, as usual.

"Need a cause of death, Duck," the agent demanded.

"The cause of death was remarkably easy to work out, my dear Jethro," he replied. "This poor fellow suffered a massive heart attack."

Jethro stared at the Seaman. "He doesn't look the type," he pointed out.

"His cholesterol level was low, his weight was fine, he clearly exercised well, and there was no family history," Ducky answered. "I cannot tell what caused the heart attack. Abby has some samples and might have a better idea."

"Poison?"

"I didn't see a trace of it anywhere."

"_You_ didn't see a trace?"

Ducky smiled. "I thought Mr. Palmer could do with the practice. I am observing his actions closely though."

"It seems to be natural causes," Palmer chimed.

"There's nothing natural about a healthy man dropping dead of a heart attack," Jethro called over his shoulder as he made his way to the elevator.


	4. Ghosts and Ghouls

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! I love writing Abby bits..._

Chapter 4: Ghosts and Ghouls

Abby bounced up and down on the spot as her music played. Her babies were running tests for three different teams, and she was busy researching something small for Gibbs.

Her mass spec beeped and she rushed over. She printed the report quickly, and skimmed it. Nothing out of the ordinary in Seaman Fincher's blood work then. He hadn't been poisoned. His death was definitely due to natural causes.

Abby felt a bit upset over this. He was a cute guy, dead before his thirtieth birthday. And dead of a heart attack as well! He did not deserve to die that way. She stomped her foot on the floor to cement her idea, before heading back to her computer.

Her research continued. She found herself being sucked into it. How could anything else be more interesting?

She loved her job. Even though she worked hours most people would consider unreasonable, she did so because she loved it. She could figure out why things had happened, why people had died, why vehicles had crashed, what secrets people were hiding in their computers. How could anyone not find this fun?

Although sometimes she did worry about the people she worked with. Mommy and Daddy needed to sort out their differences and make things work again. They were too perfect together to be apart. The agency couldn't function without them. The only reason it was still ticking over was that they weren't fighting, only not talking to each other. Perhaps she should trap them in an elevator together… They would have to talk to each other then.

It was something on Jenny's side. Lily had admitted as much. But the CIA agent claimed she couldn't solve it for the time being. This was clearly not right. Lily could do anything. Only last week she had almost drowned after swimming through a flooded cave to get help for Gibbs and the others. And the week before she had dealt with a hostage situation in MTAC.

Abby wondered why this month, of all months, was so busy. Everything seemed to be happening at the same time. Sometimes life needed to slow down a bit.

She smiled to herself at her conclusion, picking up Bert and hugging him. She was so smart sometimes! Life could be a horrible big mess, but it could also be fun, unpredictable and highly enjoyable. She liked looking on the bright side of things because it was more interesting. Why would anyone want to be sad all the time?

The elevator doors dinged and she whirled around. Gibbs and his team filed into her lab. Gibbs gave her a Caf-Pow, which she eagerly took and began to drink. Caffeine goodness!

"I have something for you," she smiled. "Well, more than one something really."

"Go on," Gibbs encouraged.

"Well, maybe even more than more than one," she continued.

"Abs!" he warned.

"Okay." She whirled back to her computer. "First things first. Seaman Fincher's tox screen came back clean. He definitely wasn't poisoned. So he died of natural causes, unless Ducky finds anything else."

"Not a murder, boss," Tony joined in. "Does this mean we can stop?"

Gibbs glared at him.

"We could keep looking for a little longer," Tony suggested.

"A healthy Seaman does not just keel over from a heart attack," Gibbs pointed out.

"Exactly, _el jefe_," Abby agreed. "I was thinking about what would make a healthy young man die like that and I had an idea."

"Abs!"

"You're not very patient today, my silver haired fox," she pouted. "Did the Director do something again?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Moving on. So I did some research and it turns out that the supposedly disused aircraft hangar is haunted."

"There are no such things as ghosts," Gibbs protested.

"Gibbs! There is so much evidence for them and you're dismissing my idea so quickly!"

"Abby," McGee tried. "We need a solid lead, not ghosts."

She chuckled at his joke; he seemed confused. "Solid? Ghosts? Nothing?"

McGee winced. "Unintentional. Sorry."

"Military bases seem to be more haunted than other places," Abby began. "I've found lots of articles about ghosts on bases –"

"All on the Internet, I'm guessing," McGee muttered.

"I've found lots of stories about haunting –"

"Stories," McGee repeated quietly.

She spun around. "Remember I can kill you and leave no forensic evidence," she growled.

McGee gulped. "Okay."

"I've found stories about Officer's quarters being haunted, fighter jets having extra ghostly passengers, and unknown ghosts haunting an air force base at Pearl Harbor. It's not just confined to this country as well. Japan seems to be really haunted. They've closed down base homes because everyone says they're haunted. Old field hospitals report noises and individuals walking around when the place is really empty. There's a Victorian fort in England that seems to be haunted with all kinds of ghosts."

"Abs," Gibbs interrupted.

"There's even evidence of a little girl haunting a guard tower on a military base in Afghanistan!"

"Enough, Abs."

She fell silent, upset.

"You did a good job," he soothed. "But I can't slap handcuffs on a ghost."

She giggled. "If he died of natural causes, you can't slap handcuffs on anyone."

He nodded, smiling slightly.

"But if he saw a ghost…"

"Seaman Fincher did not see a ghost," he reiterated softly. "Okay?"

She wasn't happy, but knew he would not follow her idea. "Okay."

He kissed her cheek gently. "Enjoy your Caf-Pow," he smiled.

The team followed him out of the lab. Another of Abby's machines beeped, and she bounced over to see the result, her irritation forgotten.

* * *

Ziva David groaned in frustration. Her partner was doing everything he could to aggravate her. Paper airplanes, paperclips and erasers had been thrown at her head in the last half an hour while Gibbs was out for coffee. With a bit of luck, he would return when Tony did something unforgiveable.

Perhaps it was better if he did not. She could kill her partner before Gibbs returned and she would feel so much better. She could not be held responsible for her actions if he tossed another thing in her direction…

She smiled to herself. Abby had done a lot of research into her theory. Perhaps the Seaman had seen a ghost and had a heart attack. She had heard stories herself, but rarely shared them. She had never seen anything herself, although she would love to do so.

Tony seemed to think that they no longer needed to find out anything about the Lieutenant because it was no longer a case. She disagreed; it was not natural for someone like Fincher to die of a heart attack. What was he doing in the hangar at night? Was anyone with him?

She was sure that Hillman was not involved. He may have stumbled across the body, but he had seemed eager to do the right thing and her training had not picked up anything amiss about him. Still, she had been wrong before. Just in case, she had quietly researched Hillman and found nothing strange about him. Gibbs would want her to be thorough.

McGee was working hard at his desk, while Tony was musing over his latest plan to annoy her. In an attempt to put a stop to his actions, she slipped silently out of her chair and behind him. He did not spot her, so she stayed behind his chair.

It took him a few minutes to realize she had vanished. She watched as he looked around in confusion, before she slammed his chair into his desk. He almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hey Ziva," he managed to mutter.

"Tony," she replied.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought you wanted my attention," she smiled. "I am therefore giving you some."

"If I'd known all I had to do was ask," he leered. "I'd have tried sooner."

She pushed his chair further into the desk.

"Can't breathe," he groaned.

She smiled sweetly at him. "I know. Leave me alone." She let go of the chair and moved back to her own.

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously along the lines of 'crazy Mossad ninja chick', but she decided to ignore it. For now.

"Do I need to remind you two of Rule Twelve?" Gibbs inquired as he appeared out of nowhere.

"He was harassing me," Ziva immediately protested.

"Stop harassing Officer David," Gibbs told Tony. "Or I'll let her do what she likes to you."

Ziva gave her partner her most dangerous look, and inwardly smiled at the terrified expression that appeared on his face.

"Do we have anything?" Gibbs checked as he sat down.

"I think Abby is getting excited over nothing," McGee claimed.

"It is possible that Fincher saw a ghost and had a heart attack," Ziva pointed out.

"Ghosts don't exist, _Zee-vah_," Tony drawled.

"Just because you have never seen one does not mean they do not exist," she retorted.

"I have never seen one _because _they don't exist."

"Something made him have a heart attack," she countered. "Abby says that the hangar is haunted. Surely that gives us grounds for further investigation."

Everyone turned to look at Gibbs.

"I think it's time to call in an expert," he decided.


	5. The Expert

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! A special thanks to SJ for constantly reminding me when I need to update!_

Chapter 5: The Expert

Tony DiNozzo frowned as he stood in the elevator. Abby stood on one side of him, McGee on the other, while Ziva and Gibbs stood in front of him.

An hour after Gibbs had made his mysterious statement regarding an 'expert', Abby had shown up in the squad room with the message that the 'expert' had appeared. Gibbs had told everyone to stay where they were while he went for coffee. Everyone had obeyed.

To pass the time, he had crouched down by Ziva's desk and tried to read her emails. He had observed the Director walking along the catwalk and into the elevator. Abby and McGee had passed the time by trying to hack tickets for a concert.

Eventually, Gibbs had returned, a cup of coffee in each hand. He had ordered them to follow him, and they had all crowded into the elevator.

Tony couldn't understand who this expert was. How could you have a ghost expert? Worse still, a ghost expert who knew Leroy Jethro Gibbs? Gibbs did not believe in anything he couldn't see, except his gut. Why would he be friends with someone who went completely against what he believed in? Gibbs had friends?

The elevator doors opened, and Gibbs held up a hand to tell everyone to be silent. They crept up on Abby's lab, without advertising their presence. They could hear a voice inside… it had to be two voices.

"My turn," came the first one. "What is the one CD you have but don't admit to owning?"

"Oh come on JL," came the second one. "At least pick something you can't answer yourself. I have a Vanilla Ice album. We got it from the same shop within five minutes of each other."

"It's hard to play this game when I already know the answers!"

"Ridiculous. You just have to adapt the questions to fit."

"Give me an example, Lil."

"Okay. Who is the best guy you ever kissed?"

"I am not answering that!"

"Why not?"

"It's personal."

"Kissing a guy is personal? Oh please, we've discussed far worse than kissing in much more detail."

"Lil, back off."

"You told me before, JL. Why won't you tell me now?"

Silence fell over the lab. "He's right outside, isn't he?"

"Who?"

"Agent Gibbs." Jenny's voice was cold now. "Enter."

Gibbs walked through the doors, his team following. "Interesting conversation," he grinned at Lily.

She grinned back at him. "You liked that, you'll love her answer. You're still trying to dodge it, JL."

Jenny rolled her eyes, kissed her sister's forehead and left without saying a word.

"You have to talk to him someday," Lily yelled after her.

"We need your expertise," Gibbs told her, handing over the spare coffee cup.

"Really? Sounds like you need my help, not my expertise."

Tony hid a smirk. She was good.

"How would you haunt someone?" Gibbs asked.

"First I'd die," she started.

"Very funny. If this were a job."

"You mean is it possible? A radio, a tape player, or something a lot more sophisticated. I could definitely haunt someone. This have anything to do with Seaman Fincher?"

"How do you know Fincher?" Gibbs questioned, suspicious.

"Ziva called one of her contacts, who called Jenny, who called me. It's not every day you look into the background of a Seaman. I don't have anything on the guy. Certainly never heard of him. I was just curious, as was Ziva's original contact."

"Can you help us?"

"Do what? Fincher died of natural causes. There's no need for me to get involved."

* * *

Abby sighed as the team left her lab. The conversation they had overheard between Jenny and Lily was amusing. Jenny had refused to name the best guy she had kissed. The Goth was prepared to bet any money it was Gibbs.

She glared at the person still present. Lily was carefully poking around the lab, satisfying her curiosity. The CIA agent had asked permission first, with a gentle smile on her face. Abby suspected that she did not want to be in an elevator with Gibbs.

Gibbs had given up far too easily, in Abby's opinion. He should have pushed her to talk about hauntings more. He should have asked her whether she believed in ghosts or not. It could help them. Lily was ahead of the game in a lot of things. Gibbs had called her asking for her help, and promptly ignored most of it.

The Goth liked Lily. She asked questions when she genuinely wanted to know more, and asked the right questions as well. She did not mind explaining her logic out loud, even if it was a little odd sometimes. Abby still couldn't believe Lily had blown herself up on purpose.

Sometimes Lily needed to be reined in, for her own good. Sometimes she let her judgment become clouded or obscured by her devotion to her job. But she was still a nice person at heart. From what little time they had spent together, Abby knew that Lily was a caring person. Rather than dropping Jenny in it during the Gilman affair, Lily had kept quiet and worked extremely hard to undo the mess. If her son hadn't spoken up, no one would have realized.

Lily was an unsung hero. Whereas Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and McGee could end up as headline news one day, Lily would forever remain a secret. Her exploits would never be known. She could single-handedly save the world, and no one would ever find out. And she was aware of this fact, and still chose to do her job.

Abby liked her. Sometimes she just wanted to give her a big hug and never let go. Lily occasionally seemed consumed by darkness, and Abby wanted to help her find the light.

Lily looked up from Major Mass Spec and smiled. "I have to be heading back," she admitted. "I'm supposed to be on my lunch break."

"I'll walk you to the elevator," Abby offered.

If Lily was surprised, she hid it well.

"Did you bring Jenny any lunch?" Abby checked.

"A nice sandwich from down the street," she confirmed. "What do you want, Abby?"

Abby walked into the elevator and raised her eyebrows. Lily grinned and followed. Once the elevator had begun its journey, Abby flipped the emergency stop.

"I like LJ's conference room," Lily grinned.

"We need to have a private talk."

"Shoot."

Abby thought about how best to phrase her request. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Lily seemed taken aback by the question. "I expected LJ to ask that."

"Do you?"

"I have seen things I can't explain," she confessed. "Not ghosts, but I can't tell you much more. I accept that ghosts might exist."

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

"If you want to."

"I want to stake out the hangar at night."

Lily shook her head softly.

"Is that a 'no'?"

"It's not a 'yes'. What do you hope to find, Abby?"

"A reason why Seaman Fincher would have a heart attack. He deserves justice!"

"I don't think you can arrest a ghost."

"Please? It would be fun."

"Staying in a disused aircraft hangar that may or may not be haunted? Count me in. I could do with some fun."

Abby beamed. Mission accomplished.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs rolled his eyes as another piece of paper was used as a projectile. Honestly, some days he felt like volunteering in a kindergarten so he could deal with more mature people.

"Pack it in," he barked.

Tony looked chagrined, while Ziva smirked.

Gibbs had expected Lily to react to a possible ghost. She and Jenny had shared a few out of the ordinary experiences, and he thought she would be interested. Instead, she had dismissed him out of hand. When she had returned through the squad room, she had left her empty coffee cup on his desk as well, just to rub salt into the wound.

At least she had delivered lunch to Jenny. She had almost certainly made sure her sister had actually eaten it, not put it to one side to eat later. Whatever was going on with Jenny, Lily was sticking around to help out. It was better than nothing.

Lily had been argumentative, but not malicious. It was a curious combination for her. Normally, she did not miss a chance to throw something in his face, but she had been rather well behaved for once. Although he liked this side of her, it worried him. Why was she behaving? Was she up to something, or was it because she was worried too?

Worried about Jenny.

"Hey boss?" Tony called. "I've got an idea."

Gibbs stared at him.

"If Ziva thinks Fincher could have had a heart attack because he saw a ghost, I think she should stake out the hangar to prove it."

"Very funny Tony," Ziva retorted. "One person on their own is not a good idea. Why do you not come to?"

"Because I'm the senior field agent and I get to delegate?"

"You are my partner and you should provide backup."

"If you see a ghost, call me. I'll provide backup then."

Gibbs whistled loudly to attract their attention. Sometimes he longed for Lily. "I agree with DiNozzo," he told them. "But we should all stake out the hangar together."


	6. The Team Arrives

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Oh, how I hate being ill..._

Chapter 6: The Team Arrives

Timothy McGee was annoyed that he was carrying all the equipment into the hangar. They had bought sleeping bags, pillows, overnight bags, cameras, motion sensors and several laptops. Gibbs and Ziva had carried their own belongings, but Tony had left his with the junior agent.

Tony was very immature most of the time, and seemed to believe he was better than McGee, simply because he was the senior field agent. The younger man did not like this, but knew Gibbs and Ziva kept him in line. Most of the time.

He reminded himself of what Gibbs had once told him. Tony still called him Probie as a sign of affection, in the same way Gibbs' first boss still called _him_ Probie. McGee could not imagine Gibbs being a Probie. It was an unthinkable thought. In McGee's mind, his boss had been born knowing everything.

The floor of the hangar was now clear after he had picked up all the rubbish earlier in the day. It seemed such a long time ago. Abby had not been able to find out anything useful from the wrappers, unsurprising if Fincher had suffered a heart attack.

Gibbs placed his bag on the floor in the very center of the room. McGee remembered that Fincher had been found only yards away. It seemed the best spot to set up. He dropped everything he was carrying and remembered he had to make another trip. Biting back his complaint, he headed out the door again.

The car was parked some distance away. Not only because of the risk someone would recognize it, but also because the nearest place to park it was some way away. He could see it in the distance and groaned. He really did not want to have to lug the rest of the stuff this far.

Still, he did his job. He walked for ten minutes to the car, removed Tony's belongings and another laptop, and walked back. Night was starting to fall and he found himself shivering. It wasn't the cold… it was something else. He made a mental note to not tell Abby about this, although he was starting to understand why Hillman had run into the hangar.

Finally he met up with the others again. Ziva had chosen a corner slightly away from the others, and was busy rolling out her sleeping bag. McGee doubted she would actually sleep, but it was something soft to sit on. Gibbs was also sorting out his sleeping bag, and ordering Tony to sort out the lanterns.

Thinking ahead, Gibbs had requisitioned about fifteen lanterns. The hangar had no electricity anymore, so something needed to be done about the light. McGee had initially presumed they would use torches, but the lanterns dispersed a lot of light. It made the hangar feel more safe, somehow.

McGee placed everything on the floor and began to sort out his little area. He rolled his sleeping bag onto the floor, and set up a small table on which he could place his equipment. He turned on his laptop to check for emails, and was surprised to see a new one from Abby. What could she want? Had she found something? He opened it, reading the contents in horror.

"Err, boss?" he began. "We've got a slight problem."

"What, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs!" came a squeal from the door.

* * *

Abby had decided much earlier on that she was not missing out on a night of ghost hunting. Recruiting Lily had been easy. Emboldened by her success, and the thought of having someone who knew how to handle a gun present, she had tried to persuade others to come.

Ducky had been her first target. It hadn't taken too much persuasion for him to agree. He was curious, and felt spending the night would help him understand what Fincher had been doing there. He had left work slightly early to make sure his mother would be looked after.

Palmer had elected not to come. He had mumbled something about needing to thoroughly clean Autopsy before he left, and how he couldn't spare the time.

Abby had bumped into Michelle Lee on her way back up to her lab, and invited the agent. She begged off, saying that she had a lot of paperwork to do that evening.

'_Why weren't they out?_' Abby mused. They were young, carefree. Why were they choosing to spend all their free time in the Navy Yard?

A report needed to get to the Director that afternoon, and Abby had decided to deliver it herself. It would give her an opportunity to ask Jenny to come as well. If Lily had agreed, perhaps Jenny would. A chance to see both Jenny and Lily at the same time would be fun! The Director had readily agreed, although she had asked whether Gibbs would be present. Abby had reassured her that she was not inviting Gibbs. He didn't believe in ghosts, and would try to prevent them from going.

Just before she had left her lab to get ready, she had realized it might be a smart idea to tell someone where they were going. Just in case the ghost gave them all heart attacks, someone would need to know where to collect the bodies. She had decided that McGee would be the safest bet. Gibbs never checked his email, Tony would probably delete it, and Ziva might decide to join them. Which would be no bad thing, but Abby wanted to keep the group small. The smaller the group, the less chance Gibbs would find out.

They had all met up just outside the main gate. All except Lily who had called to say she was running late and shouldn't be too much longer. Jenny had got them onto the base, and they had parked all their cars in a side street where no one would hunt for them. It had been a long walk to the hangar, but it would be worth it.

She had not expected to find Gibbs and his team in there already. Perhaps they had the same idea she had. This would mean Gibbs believed in ghosts!

"Gibbs!" she squealed again, running towards him and enveloping him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here! I didn't invite you because you don't believe in ghosts, but now you do or you wouldn't be here! Don't be mad at me?"

Gibbs managed to wriggle free. "I'm not mad at you," he smiled. "You should have thought this through a little more."

She pouted. "I asked people who can use guns! Jenny's here. Look!"

She whirled around and found Jenny glaring at Gibbs.

"And I invited someone else first…" She tailed off, not sure if Gibbs would like the idea of someone else coming.

"Who?" Gibbs inquired.

"And I sent McGee an email so you'd know if anything happened to us."

Gibbs ignored her ramblings. "Who else did you ask?"

"Are we late to the party?" another voice asked.

* * *

Lily smiled by the door. Everyone was here. It had taken her a little longer to arrive because she had needed to sort a few things out.

Her son stood on one side of her, with a rucksack in his hands. He was excited at the thought of tagging along, although she had warned him that this was a grown-up outing and things might get a little dangerous. This hadn't put him off.

Her fiancé stood on the other side of her. Alex had decided that she was not wandering off alone, not after her actions in recent weeks. She was secretly pleased at his presence, as she didn't like to be apart from him. He was a stabilizing influence on her sometimes, while other times they plotted together. If he wanted to protect her, why would she complain?

Someone else stood on the other side of Jasper. Someone she had known for a long time.

"Great Aunt April?" Jenny asked. "What are you doing here?"

The Great Aunt grinned. "Lilith decided to stake out a haunted hangar. I thought I'd tag along. Someone needs to keep an eye on the young rascal anyway."

"I think we can manage Jasper between us," LJ told her.

"Not that young thing! _That _one!" She pointed at Lily, who had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Great Aunt April looked after us when we were younger," she explained to the others. "She was CIA, back in the good old days. She persuaded me to get a job there."

"You are perfectly suited for it," April confirmed. "Even as a little child."

Lily caught the smirk on LJ's face. "Hey!" she protested. "The Great Aunt will not be telling any stories about me as a child."

"Neither you nor anyone else can hold my tongue," April countered.

Lily rolled her eyes. Perfect.

"Who is looking after the twins if you're here?" Jenny questioned April.

"Your sister asked her partner to do it. I believe she threatened to stab him in the eye with her stiletto heel if he refused."

"He needed some encouragement," Lily shrugged. "Where can we set up camp? We're all armed, before you ask. Except for Jasper."

"Why didn't I guess that?" she heard LJ mutter under his breath. He pointed to a spot not far from him, and she wandered over, making sure to 'accidently' tread on his toes as she passed him. Jenny followed her motley crew as well, placing their bags together.

"What now?" Tony asked.

"We wait," Gibbs ordered.


	7. Stakeout

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Falling asleep in an exam has not been my best move this week... I'm too ill!_

Chapter 7: Stakeout

Tony DiNozzo withheld a smirk as he looked around the hangar. It had just hit midnight, and two people were already asleep.

Jasper had spent the first few hours charging around like a lunatic, annoying McGee who had been trying to set up his equipment. Lily and Jenny had taken turns to chase him around. It had taken Tony a while to realize they were trying to wear the boy out so he would fall asleep more easily. It had worked; Jasper was now fast asleep in someone's lap. He couldn't tell if it was Lily or Jenny because they were dressed identically as usual.

The sisters were sitting slight apart from everyone else, and were whispering to each other. Sometimes they shared a giggle, and other times they were more serious. At one point, one of them had become infuriated and everyone had turned to watch them. Great Aunt April had cleared her throat, causing them to fall silent for a few minutes. They had also glared at everyone for good measure.

Great Aunt April had settled down next to Ducky. The two elders had bought their own foldout chairs to sit on, and were happily conversing away. They were getting on like a house on fire. Tony privately thought that Ducky would have a new girlfriend at the end of the week, and rather liked the idea. Ducky needed to meet new people, other than dead bodies. The Great Aunt seemed nice enough, although he had spotted a little bit of Lily around her edges. It was easy to see where Lily had got her mischievous side from.

Abby was busy pestering McGee to run more tests. She was convinced that ghosts were involved somehow and she wanted lots of experiments run. She had waved a heat sensor around earlier, looking for any 'cold spots'. Abby claimed that a lot of ghost sightings were accompanied by part of the room turning cold. She had also set up some video cameras to capture any action.

Tony had not expected one of the sisters to talk quietly to McGee at the start of the stakeout. He suspected it was Lily as she had slipped him a small handheld device. She had seemed determined to hide it from the others, so Tony had not mentioned it. He was sure to find out what it was soon enough.

In the meantime, Tony had been pestering Ziva. He had sat with her and rifled through her bag until she threatened to kill him. He had stolen the chocolate she had bought along with her. He had tried to make off with her sleeping bag while she went outside to get some fresh air, but the sisters had spotted him and taken action. Being tackled to the floor by two redheads was surprisingly fun. Especially as one of them had then warned him to behave 'or else'. Only Lily would do that, and he had a few nice ideas of what the 'or else' might be.

Gibbs had started by talking to Alex. The two of them had been discussing weapons as far as Tony could tell. They had taken their handguns out and compared them, before moving on to talking about the best bullets to use in particular situations. Tony had found the conversation boring and went back to harassing Ziva.

After a while, Alex had moved over to where the sisters were sitting and had settled down. He was currently fast asleep, his gun clutched in his hand.

Gibbs had taken to surveying the room, watching the occupants. Tony had not failed to notice that his gaze lingered on one of the sisters for longer than anyone else. As Gibbs was one of the few who could tell the sisters apart, Tony suspected this was Jenny, although he supposed his boss could be keeping an eye on Lily.

He shook his head slightly and returned to watching the Great Aunt. She was in her eighties perhaps, but moved as though she was younger. She certainly acted like someone younger, and had no qualms in embarrassing Lily. Tony wanted to harass her for more information on the younger Jenny and Lily, but suspected she could dodge any questions he threw her way. She was an ex-CIA agent after all.

She also seemed fearlessly independent. She was looking after Jenny's twins – Tony had often wondered who was doing that as he had not seen them in the onsite daycare – and she seemed to look after Jasper sometimes as well. She had chosen to tag along with Lily, who she called by her real name. Very few people did that. Even Gibbs didn't call her Lilith. Tony chose to call her Lily because he felt it suited her often-hidden softer side.

He had watched her maternal side as she played with Jasper. Both sisters had shown it clearly. He wanted some easy way of telling them apart, but they had acted the same around Jasper. They cuddled him and laughed with him. They had even told him a bedtime story together as he was drifting off. It had involved 'The Continuing Terrors of Mara Davies'. Everyone had fallen silent during the story, and the Great Aunt had been struggling not to laugh.

Tony knew from Europe that Mara Davies was the sister's stepmother and they hated her. The stories always seemed to involve their stepmother in painful situations. Tonight's version had involved fire ants.

Abby had loved it, clapping her hands together quietly at the end so as not to wake Jasper. Gibbs had also grinned, having heard the stories before. Tony had thoroughly enjoyed an insight into the sister's minds.

He wondered how much they had tormented their stepmother. They clearly did not like her, as evidenced by the stories. A teenaged Lily would have been a handful, and he wanted to know more about what she had been like, and how alike the sisters had been then. He wanted to picture the Director as a rebel, but found it hard.

He didn't mind. He could always ask the Great Aunt for some interesting stories later.

* * *

Ducky shook his head as he looked around the room. Almost everyone was now asleep. They were supposed to be on stakeout!

Abby and McGee had drifted off in the last few hours, followed by Tony and Ziva. Jennifer had been the last to fall asleep, leaning on her sister's shoulder.

Ducky only knew it was Jennifer because April had told him. She seemed one of the few who could tell the sisters apart. She claimed it was a skill very few people had.

It was now 4 o'clock in the morning. It was still dark outside; dawn was a few hours off. Apart from him and April, only Lily and Jethro were still awake. Lily was alert as she looked around the hangar, while Jethro watched Jennifer sleep. He sighed inwardly. Those two needed to get their act together.

"Youngsters today," April snorted next to him. "Haven't got the discipline anymore. All asleep."

"I expected Ziva would stay awake," Ducky added. "And I thought Jethro would make sure his team stayed awake as well."

"I do like that young man," April grinned. "I can see what Jenny sees in him. Unfortunately he's a bit too young for me, and I could see it causing all kinds of problems if I ever snagged him."

"What would the twins call you? Great great aunt or stepmother?"

"Exactly. Still, at least Lilith is awake. She won't let the Shepard side down."

"I doubt she's ever failed anything in her life."

"They almost failed mathematics all the way back in first grade. Got exactly the same answers wrong too."

"I'm sure the teacher wasn't happy about that."

"They never were. They had to sit tests in separate rooms so no one could accuse them of cheating. They still gave exactly the same answers though."

Ducky shook his head again. "Twins."

"They insisted on going to the same college together as well. Shared a room on campus. It was the first time they acted differently."

"How so?"

"They majored and minored in the opposite subjects. I personally felt they were swapping classes over most of the time, but no one could ever prove it."

Ducky smiled softly. "Youngsters."

* * *

Gibbs watched Jenny as she slept. The tension seemed to drain away from her and she just looked beautiful. She slept on Lily's shoulder, while Lily stayed alert. Protecting her sister.

He wished Jenny would open up to him. If Lily fell asleep, he was going to ask the Great Aunt to tell him what was going on. She seemed knowledgeable about the sisters. He hoped she would also relate some stories of when they were children. He would love to have something to use against Lily.

His team were asleep, but he didn't care. There were no such things as ghosts anyway. They weren't going to see anything. If he wanted any work out of them tomorrow – _today_ – they would need some sleep.

An unfamiliar voice broke the silence. It sounded broken, _spooky_. "Lilith."


	8. Things That Go Bump In The Night

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Go SJ for not damaging my fragile health! (sends good luck vibes)_

Chapter 8: Things That Go Bump In The Night

Jenny almost jumped out of her skin. A spooky voice had come out of nowhere, calling her sister's name. And it had woken her up.

Within seconds, she was on her feet, gun in hand, searching for the source of the noise. Lily had also jumped to her feet and pulled her gun out.

Panic had broken out among some of the others. Abby had screamed in shock. Ziva was as pale as a sheet. Only Jasper seemed to find it amusing, but Great Aunt April had swept him behind her.

Guns were everywhere. Tony and Ziva had theirs out and were watching the south side of the hangar. Gibbs was covering the west side. Great Aunt April and Alex were watching the north side, while she and Lily were focused on the east.

The only four who were not armed were Abby, McGee, Ducky and Jasper. Abby and Ducky never carried guns anyway. Jasper was not allowed near a gun. McGee had opened his laptop and was busying typing things in. Jenny hoped he was using the device she had given him. They needed to locate where the sound was coming from.

She was terrified. Part of her accepted that ghosts might exist, the same as Lily. She certainly had not expected anything to happen. She had thought of this as a bonding session with some of the others, a chance to spend an evening not worrying about other things. But now she wished she had declined Abby's invitation and stayed home.

Her agent side was enjoying this though. Although the danger was not obvious, she felt like she was back in the field again. Only Lily made her feel like that on a regular basis. She hauled her along on stakeouts and other things she was busy doing off the books. They worked incredibly well together, each half of a whole. They pulled off a lot of stunts, some of which would give Gibbs a shock if he ever found it.

Which was one of the reasons they kept very quiet about it.

The other was that Jethro would get very annoyed that she ditched her security on such a regular basis. She didn't like being followed everywhere, but was aware that it came with the territory. Sometimes she just wanted to be left alone, so she wandered off with Jethro. However, there were some places she did not wish to take him, like clothes shopping. The easiest alternative was to take Lily, as they would buy the same clothes anyway.

They didn't mean to, but they just did. When they were younger, they argued about it all the time. In the end, they had accepted there was very little they could do unless one of them became a Goth, and that was not going to happen. They used it to their advantage instead, swapping over all the time. No one could ever get them straight and they were used to it.

Well, a few people could get them the right way round, but they were few and far between.

Jenny listened hard for any sound that shouldn't be there. The wind had picked up and was whipping round the outside of the hangar. Perhaps it had simply been the wind. That's what it must be…

"Lilith."

* * *

Ziva David fought down her panic and tried to locate the voice. It was not easy; it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

She had always been open to the idea of ghosts, demons and other assorted things. She did not normally mention it to people, but the team knew about it. The team were pretty much her family though, so it was only right they knew.

From the moment she was old enough to walk, her father had raised her to be a dutiful Mossad officer. The training had been drilled into her at a young age, which had led to some attempts to hunt for ghosts when her father was away. She recalled sitting patiently in silence at the top of the stairs for hours in the middle of the night, hoping that a ghost would come along.

She no longer hunted for ghosts or longed to see one. She had grown out of it. When the opportunity to stake out somewhere that was supposed to be haunted had come her way yesterday, she had not protested. She doubted she would encounter a ghost, but a small part of her had hoped she would.

It seemed that her wish had come true.

She could not see a ghost, or anything that would suggest a ghost was present. All they had heard was the voice, calling for Lily. Or, more accurately, calling for Lilith. It must be someone who had known her well to call her that.

"Lilith."

It came again.

She was still unable to work out where the sound was coming from. McGee continued to type away at his laptop in an attempt to trace it better. She hoped he could help them out. Guns would be unless against a ghost, but it felt good to hold it in her hand. Everyone else was also clutching theirs, including Great Aunt April.

Ziva was beginning to admire Great Aunt April. She was a tough… cookie? Even in Israel, there were not many people in their eighties who wielded guns, and certainly none as well as this woman. She definitely practiced a few times a week at a range. She was trying to keep Jasper behind her, which was not easy when no one knew where the voice was coming from.

"Lilith."

It came again.

Ziva began to feel chills up and down her back. It should not be as cold as this in here! She felt her hands beginning to shake and she forced herself to relax. A ghost could not hurt her. It was only a voice. It could be an audio recording, or someone using a radio receiver and broadcast speaker. But how did they know who was here?

"Lilith."

It came again.

Lily chose to answer this time. "Who is it?" she called.

Silence fell over the hangar for a moment.

"Your father."

Lily went very pale, and for a brief moment Ziva was convinced she was going to faint. She visibly pulled herself back together.

"Hey Dad. How's Hell?"

"You should not have killed him," Ziva hissed in Lily's direction.

* * *

Lily almost screamed in frustration.

She had started speaking to the creepy voice in the hope that it would give McGee more time to pinpoint it. It was the same principle of tracing a phone call. Keep talking, don't give too much away. Encourage the other person to do the talking.

Except Ziva had just told whoever/whatever it was that she had killed her father. A pretty big thing to let slip. Her first instinct had been a desire to shoot Ziva, but she had quashed it. She would be immediately cut down by a hail of bullets from LJ's team.

So her next best move would be to carry on the way she had been earlier.

She had not expected the claim it was her father. She had murdered her own father in cold blood, although her blood had not been very cold at the time. She had been burning with anger, and had shot an unarmed man when he was being covered by others. She had actually started attending sessions with a shrink to help her out. Only Alex and Jenny knew about it.

She needed to clear her mind to allow her to focus on something else. She hated to admit it but it was working. Her nightmares were more infrequent and she was letting go.

She had kept it out of the CIA, knowing that it would spread quicker than the flu if someone found out. Arbourne, her boss, suspected but had no proof. Charlie also suspected and didn't require proof. Sometimes it was worth paying $300 an hour to build a wall of silence.

She did not need a creepy voice telling her it was her father. Her shrink was going to have a very interesting session if she survived this.

"You murdered me, Lilith," the voice warned.

"Couldn't help it," she yelled back. McGee needed a little more time…

"You will now pay the price," it intoned.

Lily wondered if she had accidently wandered into a bad horror movie. She decided to try a slightly different tactic. "I know I shouldn't have poisoned you for the inheritance," she replied.

From the corner of her eye, she saw LJ's team glance at him for guidance. Thankfully, they remained silent.

"The money will come to no good," the voice droned. "Your investments will come to nothing. It will become worthless."

"Got it!" McGee shouted delighted.

Lily lowered her gun and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Got what?" Tony asked, his gun still raised.

"I've traced the signal," McGee told him. "The radio signal."


	9. Another Fake Haunting

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! I think the loud music last night may have fried the brain cells that were necessary to remember to update... ho hum._

Chapter 9: Another Fake Haunting

Abby beamed as she turned her music up.

It had been ten hours since McGee had traced the signal. Gibbs had given everyone except his team immediate permission to leave the base and go home, with a warning that they had better show up to work later. Jenny had told the Goth and Ducky that they could come in a little late if they wanted.

Knowing how far away everyone's places were, Lily had offered everyone the chance to crash at her place. Everyone, apart from Great Aunt April, had agreed. Jasper had slept in the same bed as Alex and Lily, while Jenny had also joined them. Abby was amazed that no one fell out of the bed. Abby had taken the couch, leaving Ducky with the spare bed.

When she had woken up a few hours later, feeling very refreshed, she had searched the apartment. Lily had already vanished, leaving a note by the coffee pot in the kitchen that she had gone to work as her boss would not be happy if she took some time off. Alex and Jenny had still been asleep in the main bedroom, with Jasper in between them.

She had liked the spare room better. Ducky had also been asleep, but it had a cot at the foot of the bed. It was a slightly bigger than a normal cot, and Abby strongly suspected that the baby twins shared it together. They were not there when she went in, which was a little depressing, and she hoped Charlie would make an appearance with them before she left for work.

He did not.

While she was making toast in the kitchen – Lily's note also said they could help themselves to anything they found that was not in her bedroom – Jasper had got up. He had been very excited to see her again, and she had treated him to a bone-crushing hug while fixing some breakfast for him.

Jenny and Alex had turned up at the smell of coffee, both unresponsive until they had drank a mug. Alex had set about getting Jasper ready to return to his boarding school, while Jenny had collected her paperwork together.

Last but by no means least, Ducky had appeared in the kitchen. He had apologized profusely but told them he needed to check on his mother. Jenny had told him to go, as Palmer could handle anything that came up in his absence.

The Director had driven them in together, seemingly unconcerned that she was going to be late. They had separated in the squad room. Abby had been pleased to see the team present, although everyone looked half-asleep. Except Gibbs, who never needed sleep. He had given her a Caf-Pow as she passed, and wished her a good morning. She had happily returned the greeting.

Now she was busy filtering through evidence for other teams. It could really build up if she didn't keep on top of it. She had DNA to run for Agent Wofford, and fingerprints for Cassie Yates… She prioritized everything in her head quickly. The DNA would take longer to run, so she could prepare that and then run the fingerprints while she was waiting.

If she was really lucky, Gibbs would let McGee come down to visit her. They were in the middle of a case that no longer required her expertise, but she would like someone to talk to. Perhaps she should call Gibbs and ask for McGee…

Someone walked through the doors and Abby whirled around. It was not who she was expecting.

"Director," she smiled. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Has something happened?"

The redhead walked over to the stereo and turned the music down. "Please, Abby," she replied. "I've had no sleep."

"But you did sleep… Lily!" She attacked the redhead, who stumbled backwards.

"Abby," she warned.

She let go. "Sorry Lily. It is Lily, isn't it? Because Jenny definitely got some sleep last night and you two are dressed identically again and –"

"I'm Lily." The redhead cut her off. "Just came to check in on you. How's it going?"

"I'm not working on the Fincher case right now, but everything seems to be going well on it. Or did you mean how I'm doing? I'm doing good, and I have lots of lovely evidence to run." She paused for a moment. "How did you know that the haunting was a hoax?"

Lily grinned. "Easily."

"Do tell!" Abby pulled up two chairs and they settled down.

"After our mother died and our father remarried, Jenny and I were in a bit of a mess," she began. "In order to have a little fun, we decided to haunt our stepmother. We knocked on doors and ran away silently, we moved things around and claimed it wasn't us, we made some of her favorite things disappear… things like that."

"Go on," Abby encouraged.

"One night, Great Aunt April was around and she gave us some little radios. We quickly figured out a new game. We hid the radios around the house and we faked ghostly messages from our mother. We put on creepy voices and struggled not to giggle. It was great fun."

"Did you ever get caught?"

"Our father suspected, but we were too careful. We never got caught."

Abby smirked. "I bet you two were unholy terrors as children."

Lily returned the smirk. "Oh yeah."

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs wandered slowly up the stairs to pass on the latest news to the Director. His team were currently out serving a warrant, and now was the best time to see her.

If she would even see him.

She had ignored him when she had arrived late earlier. She had greeted the rest of his team but ignored him. It had upset him, although he had hidden it. He liked hearing her voice, even if it was raised in anger or frustration against him. Sometimes he deliberately provoked her so that he could hear her shouting. She would kill him if she ever figured it out.

Perhaps if he provoked her enough, she would start to talk to him again. He honestly could not work out what he had done to annoy her so much. She was afraid, but of what?

He was prepared to take a bullet for her. He would protect her from anything and everything. And yet she wouldn't open up to him and tell him what was going on.

He had tried asking Ziva to ask Jenny. Ziva had reported back that Jenny would not tell her a thing. He had tried asking Cynthia, but she had given him little to go on. Just something about a letter…

His next attempt was going to be through Lily. If it was something really serious, he hoped Lily would open up to him.

He arrived outside Cynthia's office and paused. He was technically barred from Jenny's office now, but maybe Cynthia would take pity on him. She had tried to help him in the elevator; perhaps she would now as well.

He opened the door. No Cynthia. But there was someone else present.

"Lily," he greeted her.

She whirled around, clearly surprised to see him there. "LJ," she replied.

He stared at her for a moment. It was obvious he had caught her going through Jenny's mail. "Looking for something in particular?" he asked, moving closer.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her job. "Just checking."

"Checking for what?"

"I plead the fifth."

He decided to try a different tactic. "Found any letters that might upset Jenny?"

She turned around more slowly the second time, eyeing him up. "Depends on what you mean," she answered carefully.

"Cynthia told me a letter upset Jenny."

"It takes a lot to upset my sister."

"Exactly. What could upset her so much?"

Lily gave a sad smile. "I can't tell you that."

He moved closer to her so he was standing in her personal space. She didn't bat an eyelid. "I think you need to tell me what is going on," he ordered quietly.

"Over my dead body."

"I'd be happy to oblige," he offered.

She looked him dead in the eye for a minute. "I can't tell you because it's not my place to say."

"Explain."

"It's Jenny's secret; only Jenny can tell you."

"Are you worried about her?"

"If I wasn't worried about her, I wouldn't be going through her mail."

"Then tell me what is going on. I can help her."

"Like I said," she whispered. "I can't. I'm doing everything I can to protect her and help her, and if she wants your help, she'll ask for it."

"Why do I think you told her to keep me in the dark?"

"At first I did," she confessed. "But now, I've told her to come clean with you. It's up to her, not me."

* * *

Gibbs stalked back to his desk. He understood that Lily would keep her sister's secrets, but he needed to know! It was consuming Jenny, surely she could see that?

The elevator dinged and his team stepped off with someone in their midst.

"Meet Petty Officer Parker, boss," Tony smiled.

"Take him to Interrogation," Gibbs growled. At last, someone he could vent his frustrations on.


	10. Manslaughter

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Only the epilogue to go, and then onto Shades of Darkness!_

Chapter 10: Manslaughter

Timothy McGee stood in Observation with Ziva and Tony. They were waiting for Gibbs to begin the interrogation of Petty Officer Parker.

At the start of the stakeout the previous day, the Director had handed him something that would trace any radio signal within a mile radius. She claimed it was Lily's, and he might find it useful.

When the spooky voice had woken him up, McGee had immediately turned it on and begun the trace. Lily had kept whoever it was on the line until he had located the signal. The minute everyone else had left, Gibbs had sent his team to knock down the door of Petty Officer Parker's home, where the signal had originated. A warrant had found a lot of interesting equipment in the house, which was all being transferred to Abby's lab.

McGee currently felt very tired. He had managed a few hours of bad sleep in the hangar, and exhaustion was kicking in. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for a few more hours. He didn't even mind if it was at his desk. Hopefully Parker would crack quickly, and they could all leave.

Tony and Ziva looked as tired as he felt. Tony looked as though he was a zombie, and was resting his head against the glass in an attempt to stay awake. Ziva was hiding it better, but her fatigue was showing in her eyes. They no longer glimmered.

Whereas Gibbs looked as refreshed as always. From what McGee had managed to pry out of Ducky, Gibbs had not slept at all the previous night. He guessed the copious amounts of coffee that his boss consumed were keeping him awake and alert.

The Director was also fairly alert, although this probably had something to do with the fact she had been run off her feet for most of the day. McGee had learnt the hard way that working flat out meant you did not have time to be tired. That, coupled with the copious amounts of coffee she drunk, led to her being able to function.

For the moment.

He had also learnt the hard way that you tended to crash when you stopped for a few minutes.

For now, he contented himself with rubbing his eyes and dreaming of a coffee.

Abby was her usual hyperactive self when he had bumped into her earlier. It probably had something to do with the four Caf-Pows she had already drunk. She had told him about Lily's flying visit. McGee wasn't so sure the visit was flying as he had seen an exhausted Director running round at the same time as a more refreshed one. It only made sense if both of the sisters were still in the Navy Yard.

He wondered if the constant desire for caffeine was linked solely to the Navy Yard. Or was it linked to federal agencies? He wondered if anyone had done a study on it and decided to find out.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs threw open the door to Interrogation and stormed in. He was secretly pleased when Petty Officer Parker jumped out of his seat.

It was always good to catch someone off guard. It set the tone for the rest of the interrogation.

He settled into his chair, and slammed the pile of folders he was carrying onto the table. Parker visibly flinched. Most of the files were unconnected to the death of Seaman Fincher, but Parker did not know that.

Petty Officer Parker looked as though he had just turned thirty. He had blond hair, cut to regulation length. He was dressed in casual clothes, because Tony and Ziva had arrested him and bought him straight in. Jeans and a T-shirt seemed to pass as casual nowadays.

Gibbs was looking forward to the Interrogation. He'd had a bad day, waiting for his team to give him answers when he was not able to get any himself. He had failed to pry information out of Lily. He had failed to find out what was wrong with Jenny.

This was a chance to even the scales a little. This was something he was good at. This was a chance to burn off some of his frustration.

"Petty Officer Parker," he growled. His first step was to continue to scare the guy. He had been waiting in Interrogation for the last three hours so was already on edge. Any further delay would make the man panic.

"Who are you?" a visibly nervous Parker asked.

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," came the reply. "You are in a heap of trouble."

"I didn't do anything," Parker quickly told him.

"I haven't even told you what you're in here for," Gibbs pointed out, enjoying the fleeting look of panic cross his opponent's face. Caught him out once already.

"I wouldn't be here if you didn't think I did something," Parker countered, still looking nervous.

Gibbs opened one of the files and began to leaf through it. "Petty Officer Nathanial David Parker, first class. Assigned to the USS Ronald Regan. Docked ten days ago, on leave since."

"That's correct," Parker confirmed.

"Have you ever heard of Seaman Fincher?"

"He's… the guy who died two nights ago? In a disused hangar on base?"

"Correct," Gibbs agreed. "Know anything about that?"

"Only what I've heard via scuttlebutt."

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. "Tell me."

Parker leaned forward, conspiratorially. "He saw a ghost and died from fright," he whispered.

"You believe that?"

Parker leaned back in his chair. "Scuttlebutt starts off with a grain of truth and takes everything out of proportion. This time, I reckon it's spot on."

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Yeah."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You honestly believe in them?"

"Lots of people see things in that hangar."

"See things or hear them?"

Parker considered. "Mainly hear."

"All of them hear things. Want to know why?"

"I would."

"Because someone installed a radio receiver and broadcast speaker in that hangar. Someone broadcast 'ghosts' into there."

"And you think _I _did it?"

"One of my agents traced the radio signal to your house. The warrant we got found the necessary equipment there."

"Look," Parker pleaded. "I'd heard the place was haunted and I just wanted to have a little fun."

Gibbs pushed back his chair and stood up. "Your 'little fun' is ending with a charge of manslaughter."

* * *

Abby danced around her lab, checking up on all of her babies. None of them required any special attention so she went back to her computer.

She began to check her email. Lots and lots of spam. One from McGee telling her that Parker had been charged. Five from Tony keeping her up to date with all the latest gossip. A short email from Agent Wofford saying that she was going to be doing a charity skydive and would anyone sponsor her? Abby sent a quick email back agreeing to donate some money.

Why would anyone want to jump out of an airplane? The Goth shuddered at the thought. It might be for charity, but it was scary. What if the parachute failed? You would hit the ground at terminal velocity, and – splat! Autopsy would be the next stop.

At least Ducky took care of the dead. He talked and acted as though they were simply asleep. One of these days, the Goth expected one of Ducky's bodies would talk back to him and the doctor would not bat an eyelid. The only reason she suspected it had not happened already was that Ducky would have mentioned it in one of his stories.

The elevator dinged and someone walked into her lab. Abby whirled.

"Lily!" she cried.

It was obviously Lily, which was saying something. Most of the time, it was impossible to tell the sisters apart. At the moment, Lily looked like a zombie while Jenny was alert from all the coffee she had drunk. Why Lily hadn't been able to get some coffee was puzzling Abby, but she chose not to ask. CIA agents had a lot of secrets, and they might get mad if they were asked to reveal them.

"Hey, Abs." Lily gave a weak smile.

"Sit down," Abby ordered, shoving a chair in the direction of the redhead.

Lily sank into it gratefully.

"Long day?" Abby asked.

"I've had longer."

"I forgot! Earlier, you said you hadn't slept. Why not?"

"Can I just not sleep?" Lily groaned.

"No! You're a special person!" Abby gave Lily a bone-crushing hug.

"And that means I must be able to sleep?" Lily croaked.

"Yes!"

"LJ has problems sleeping. Why do you think he works on his boat so much? Can't breathe."

Abby let go abruptly. "You shouldn't have problems."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. When I get particularly stressed, I can't sleep. Jenny has the same problem, although she's sleeping at the moment. I need to dig my valium out again."

"You take valium?"

"Only to help me sleep. I really need to get some sleep tonight. My boss is demanding that I run a stakeout tomorrow, and he's running short on agents. I have to do a triple shift. Twenty-four straight hours! If I didn't like my boss, I'd kill him."

"Arbourne? He's like Gibbs. All bark, no bite."

"Are we talking about the same guy?! LJ is a pushover, Arbourne isn't. I might leave a dead pig in his office just before I go on duty. He'll be fuming, but he won't be able to wring my neck for a whole day."

The lab fell silent for a few minutes. Abby wandered around, checking up on her babies again.

Her eyes fell onto her evidence table, onto the equipment Parker had been using to haunt the hangar.

"This stuff is really sophisticated," the Goth mused. "I wonder where he got it from."

Lily's face split into a wide grin. "Ask no questions and I'll tell you no lies."


	11. Epilogue

_Thanks to my beta Kristen! Look out for Shades of Darkness, in which Jenny's secret will be revealed and lead to a deadly game. Coming soon!_

Chapter 11: Epilogue

Leroy Jethro Gibbs watched as the redhead crossed the catwalk. Jenny looked even more stressed, as though her burden was growing by the day. She was still avoiding him, and he was content to let her do so.

For now.

The ghost case might have been wrapped up two days ago, but paperwork had reared its' ugly head and his team were stuck in the squad room. Jenny had been in the building for most of that time as well.

Lily was still appearing to deliver food, and was starting to deliver coffee as well. Gibbs suspected she was spiking it with bourbon. What other reason was there for not letting Cynthia get it?

Lily also seemed to be under a lot of stress. Gibbs knew she threw herself into whatever job she had. She seemed to be draining herself of energy on her usual CIA duties, but also something on the side. Something connected to Jenny.

He longed for Jenny to tell him what was going on. She should be able to trust him! He trusted her. He trusted her with his life. What secret could she not tell him? Was this connected to the letters and Lily rifling through the mail?

Gibbs sighed, and sipped his coffee. Soon, the sisters would slip up. Soon, they would have to tell him.

He only hoped it would not be too late.

* * *

Jenny stalked along the catwalk, files in her hands. Did paperwork ever stop? Sometimes she felt the world could end and the paperwork would still come her way.

This was getting out of hand. Not the paperwork, but what Lily was supposed to be doing. How long did it take?! Someone had to be stalling or Lily wasn't doing her job properly.

That was unfair. Lily was working flat out, trying to juggle her CIA responsibilities with her sisterly ones. She was hiding things left, right and center. If someone figured out what was going on, Lily could lose her job. She was doing the best she could under difficult conditions.

Jenny stormed through Cynthia's office. "Coffee, Director?" her loyal assistant asked.

"Please," she replied. Cynthia was being wonderful, even without knowing what was going on. Jenny made a mental note to reward her for her patience, before entering her office.

Someone was sitting in her chair.

"Hey, JL," Lily greeted, her face a cold mask.

"Lil," she answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I traced them to the FBI. It won't be long now."

THE END…


End file.
